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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2002, p. 407-413, Vol. 40, No. 2
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.2.407-413.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Evaluation of Confirmatory Strategies for Detection of Type-Specific Antibodies against Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2

Bodo Rolf Eing,1 Lars Lippelt,1 Eva Ulla Lorentzen,1 Wali Hafezi,1 Wolfgang Schlumberger,2 Katja Steinhagen,2 and Joachim Ewald Kühn1*

Institute of Medical Microbiology, Clinical Virology, University of Muenster, Muenster,1 Euroimmun GmbH, Gross-Groenau, Germany2

Received 20 February 2001/ Returned for modification 2 August 2001/ Accepted 18 November 2001

In this study, the optimal combination of three commercial glycoprotein G-2 (gG-2)-based herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) type-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (Euroimmun anti-HSV-2 immunoglobulin G [IgG] ELISA [Eu2], Gull HSV-2-specific IgG ELISA [Gu2], and Radim HSV-2 IgG ELISA [Ra2]) and one gG-2-based HSV-2-specific immunoblot (Euroimmun anti-HSV-1/HSV-2 gG Western blot [EuW]) was determined with regard to diagnostic performance and cost efficiency. Two hundred fifty serum samples were included in this study, 194 of which were from female prostitutes. When a formal primary "gold standard" was defined based on majority agreement of the commercial tests, with EuW being decisive in stand-off situations, the sensitivity and specificity of the assays in the samples from prostitutes were as follows: Eu2, 100 and 89.22%; Gu2, 94.44 and 96.08%; Ra2, 61.18 and 95.10%; and EuW, 98.90 and 100%. The most cost-effective confirmatory strategy in the samples from prostitutes was screening with Eu2, retesting positive and equivocal samples with Gu2, and resolving the remaining discordant results with EuW (estimated additional costs per sample, 79.02%; sensitivity, 100%; positive predictive value, 96.81%). Applying a self-developed gG-2-independent assay to the discordant and concordant negative samples in the samples from prostitutes suggested that the primary gold standard may have missed six HSV-2-positive samples. In conclusion, confirmatory strategies based on commercial gG-2-dependent seroassays result in an increase in the specificity of HSV-2-specific serology. However, further improvement of the sensitivity of current HSV-2-specific serology may require the additional exploitation of the gG-2-independent type-specific antibody response.

* Corresponding author. Present address: Institute of Medical Microbiology, Clinical Virology, Von-Stauffenberg-Strasse 36, D-48151 Muenster, Germany. Phone: (49) 251 7793 159. Fax: (49) 251 7793 104. E-mail: kuehnj{at}uni-muenster.de.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2002, p. 407-413, Vol. 40, No. 2
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.2.407-413.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

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  • Wales, S. Q., Smith, C. C., Wachsman, M., Calton, G., Aurelian, L. (2004). Performance and Use of a Ribonucleotide Reductase Herpes Simplex Virus Type-Specific Serological Assay. CVI 11: 42-49 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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